This invention relates to improvements in shower systems for ablutionary use.
In the majority of shower systems, there is an outlet with the spray head which is remote from the control or mixing valve which, in some installations, can be incorporated in the heater. The supply pipe extending from the control valve to the spray head provides a "dead leg" in which water will remain between successive use of the shower. The supply pipe may be fixed or flexible depending on the shower system.
For several reasons this stagnation of a volume of water is the supply pipe is undesirable. One reason coming into recent dominance is the finding that the bacteria called Legionella Pneumophila is commonly found in water supplies and thrives at temperatures of about 35.degree. C. The disease called Legionnaire's disease is found to be contracted by the inhalation of water droplets or moist air containing the bacteria. Accordingly, it is supposed that sources of infection could arise from shower outlets where conditions in the stagnant volume in the supply pipe are favourable to be rapid increase of the bacteria.